5 ms·

Brazil's other passion: Malba Tahan and the man who counted

51 points by a_w 12y ago

guelo 12y ago
Shouldn't it be the man who calculated? Contar is to count.
- ableal 12y ago
  I'd guess the English title is a play on the phrase "The Man Who Counts" (in the sense of 'who matters'), which is also the title of at least one book ( http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Counts-Poul-Anderson/dp/0441519024 http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Counts-Poul-Anderson/dp/044151... , a good tale).
- tokenadult 12y ago
  Whatever it might have been in English, the title of his book in English is The Man Who Counted: A Collection of Mathematical Adventures,[1] and the news report in English kindly submitted here refers to the book by its familiar English title. (I have known of this book since before Hacker News existed.) [1] http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Who-Counted-Mathematical/dp/0393309347 http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Who-Counted-Mathematical/dp/03...
- pmelendez 12y ago
  You are right, that was odd to me the first time that I saw the translation in English. It might fit thought since the character is presented as a person that have an exceptional ability to count really fast.
soneca 12y ago
Great story. I was born (in Brazil) in 1979 and Malba Tahan was very popular among the kids who liked math and/or puzzles. It is one of these books that leave a mark on you. I still have fond memories of reading it and trying to solve the puzzles. It is not clear in the OP, but the math in the book is usually presented in the form of puzzles that different characters present to the protagonist. So the reader has time to understand the puzzle and try to solve it before the protagonist begins to explain the solution. I was immensily proud of a particular puzzle I solved before reading the solution. It was fun, engaging and educational in very deep and lasting ways. The deep respect and consideration for a culture so diverse from ours was a huge bonus that just now I begin to understand. Sure, using the arabic world was pure marketing and sure, he paints a world of fantasy, not a historically accurate one, but he could have used it with disrepect and misinformation, but you can tell he cared about the culture. Great book, too sad it doesn't help brazilian math education a bit, as we are one of the worst in the world at it (for decades). He could have being our revolution hero in the field, but sadly he is just an oasis. A very isolated one.
- blahedo 12y ago
  When I read the article, I was thinking, "why couldn't the US have someone like this?" After reading your post, it jogged my memory, and I realised we sort of do (or did): Martin Gardner's writing is a lot like that (though without the fictional Persian frame-story).
pmelendez 12y ago
The man who counted was my favorite book back when I was a teenager. It is also a very popular book across Latin America. Beremiz Samir was some sort of MacGyver applying math. In overall it is a very proper read if you are a math inclined teenager but it is also very enjoyable in general.

51 points by a_w 12y ago

guelo 12y ago

Shouldn't it be the man who calculated? Contar is to count.

ableal 12y ago
I'd guess the English title is a play on the phrase "The Man Who Counts" (in the sense of 'who matters'), which is also the title of at least one book ( http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Counts-Poul-Anderson/dp/0441519024 http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Counts-Poul-Anderson/dp/044151... , a good tale).
tokenadult 12y ago
Whatever it might have been in English, the title of his book in English is The Man Who Counted: A Collection of Mathematical Adventures,[1] and the news report in English kindly submitted here refers to the book by its familiar English title. (I have known of this book since before Hacker News existed.) [1] http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Who-Counted-Mathematical/dp/0393309347 http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Who-Counted-Mathematical/dp/03...
pmelendez 12y ago
You are right, that was odd to me the first time that I saw the translation in English. It might fit thought since the character is presented as a person that have an exceptional ability to count really fast.

soneca 12y ago

Great story. I was born (in Brazil) in 1979 and Malba Tahan was very popular among the kids who liked math and/or puzzles. It is one of these books that leave a mark on you. I still have fond memories of reading it and trying to solve the puzzles. It is not clear in the OP, but the math in the book is usually presented in the form of puzzles that different characters present to the protagonist. So the reader has time to understand the puzzle and try to solve it before the protagonist begins to explain the solution. I was immensily proud of a particular puzzle I solved before reading the solution. It was fun, engaging and educational in very deep and lasting ways. The deep respect and consideration for a culture so diverse from ours was a huge bonus that just now I begin to understand. Sure, using the arabic world was pure marketing and sure, he paints a world of fantasy, not a historically accurate one, but he could have used it with disrepect and misinformation, but you can tell he cared about the culture. Great book, too sad it doesn't help brazilian math education a bit, as we are one of the worst in the world at it (for decades). He could have being our revolution hero in the field, but sadly he is just an oasis. A very isolated one.

blahedo 12y ago
When I read the article, I was thinking, "why couldn't the US have someone like this?" After reading your post, it jogged my memory, and I realised we sort of do (or did): Martin Gardner's writing is a lot like that (though without the fictional Persian frame-story).

pmelendez 12y ago

The man who counted was my favorite book back when I was a teenager. It is also a very popular book across Latin America. Beremiz Samir was some sort of MacGyver applying math. In overall it is a very proper read if you are a math inclined teenager but it is also very enjoyable in general.